The Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education at the University of Pennsylvania recently released its inaugural publication. Titled “Black Male Student Success in Higher Education: A Report from the National Black Male College Achievement Study,” researchers, led by the center’s director, Dr. Shaun R. Harper, have attempted to reframe the spirited dialogue concerning the achievement of African-American males.
Thus far, the dialogue has been more like a critical monologue, a consistent indictment of Black masculinity, regular exchanges of confused Black gloom and male doom, a gushing river of what Harper terms “deficit-oriented questions.”
In an effort to move toward a more constructive dialogue, the report asked new, anti-deficit questions. “What resources are most effective in helping Black male achievers earn GPAs above 3.0 in a variety of majors, including STEM fields?” This is one of many questions that UPenn researchers asked 219 successful Black male college students at 42 colleges and universities in 20 states in their study to gauge how and why they have defied the odds, or rather lived up to the odds they set for themselves.
When I read through the key findings of the study, I was struck by the simplicity of the reasons these Black men offered as to why they have succeeded in college. I was struck by how much my story was in their words. I was struck by how their story, my story, could be the story of each Black male who has not proceeded to college.
The participants’ parents deemed college a “non-negotiable” expectation after high school, were involved in their schooling and “aggressively sought out educational resources to ensure their success.” I can certainly remember this from my parents.
They “almost always” had at least one influential teacher who inspired them to go to college. I did not have a teacher, but I had a Black male guidance counselor, Mr. Lawrence. (Like I did, most considered themselves “lucky” to have this support. “Many participants felt teachers [especially White women] were incapable of engaging meaningfully with more than one or a few Black male students at a time.”)
Many respondents mentioned programs that offered early exposure or a bridge to higher education as a tremendous preparatory asset. My International Baccalaureate courses in high school were a necessary component to my college success.
